When you think of macadamia nuts, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t your skincare routine. After all, this tropical, flavorful nut is usually more closely associated with desserts or Hawaiian cuisine, and there are tons of other oils -- like jojoba oil or squalane -- that usually take center stage in the skincare aisle. But if you’re not using macadamia oil for your skin, you may be missing out. Here’s why.
What Is Macadamia Nut Oil and Why is it Healthy?
First, the basics: what is macadamia oil, how is it extracted, and what are the benefits of macadamia oil for your skin?
This yellow-white oil comes directly from pressing macadamia nuts. Like the nuts themselves, macadamia oil is rich in:
- Antioxidants like oleic acid, which are shown to protect against oxidative stress, decrease inflammation, and even possibly protect against autoimmune response.
- Vitamin E, another powerful antioxidant that can moisturize and protect the skin.
- Vitamin A, which helps stop collagen breakdown, heal scrapes, and protect the skin against sunburn.
- Niacin, which is converted to niacinamide, a powerful vitamin that can protect your lipid barrier, regulate the skin’s natural oils, treat hyperpigmentation, and soothe acne inflammation.
- Potassium, a mineral that can regulate fluid balance and balance the moisture in your skin.
- Monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid and palmitoleic acid, essential fatty acids for deep hydration and repair of the skin’s barrier function.
Benefits of Macadamia Nut Oil for Skin
Restored Skin's Natural Barrier for a Smoother Look
Macadamia oil has a ton of fatty acids, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitoleic acid, and phytosterols. When applied topically, these oils help repair the skin’s natural sebum barrier and prevent trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). Translation? Stronger skin, less acne, less redness, and fewer wrinkles. With macadamia nut oil, you’re one step closer to saying goodbye to dry skin.
But the benefits of macadamia oil don't end there.
Macadamia oil is rich in beneficial fatty acids that help maintain moisture levels and support healthy sebum production across all skin types. Among the number of fatty acids it contains, it boasts high amounts of of palmitoleic acid, a natural omega-7 fatty acid that helps moisturize the skin and supports skin barrier repair, which is great news for those with dry skin. Additionally, palmitoleic acid helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress and may contribute to preventing arteriosclerosis.
The advantages are furthered when macadamia nut oil is paired with Methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM). This rich, natural source of organic sulfur, which is often referred to as “Nature's Beauty Mineral,” helps maintain and replenish the skin's collagen over time. You can find it in our Cloud Whip Face Cream!
Balanced Oily Skin
Like any non-comedogenic oil, macadamia oil can also help balance your own natural sebum production thanks to its high concentration of natural vitamins and oils. Seems counterintuitive? It’s not!
Here’s how it works: your skin naturally produces oils. Well, if you have oily skin or acne-prone skin–or dehydrated skin that’s become oily to overcompensate–then you’re producing too much. By applying a biomimetic oil topically, you can clue your skin in and let it know, “Hey, you don’t have to produce so much oil anymore!” The result? More balanced, even-looking skin.
Fatty acids such as the Omega-6 linoleic acid contained in macadamia oil is the main driver behind this and many other macadamia oil benefits. It's extremely useful for balancing human sebum production, especially in oily skin types. Of course, creating a robust protective barrier with macadamia oil also requires using a proper cleanser and moisturizer, making macadamia oil a helpful team player in your efforts for healthy skin.
The oils in our Down To Earth Gel Cleanser and Coast Is Clear Face Toner naturally complement the macadamia oil in Daydreamer Natural Face Moisturizer to deliver maximum impact. Best of all, these products contain a host of additional natural ingredients that make them even more effective and nourishing for the skin.
Less Redness and Itching for a Calmer Feel
Phytosterols, in particular, are antioxidants that work to build our cellular membranes and stop collagen breakdown in the body, which allows the cell regeneration process to carry on smoothly. This is important to know if you’re using a macadamia nanocream and conventional cream as skin anti-aging tools.
When applied topically, these compounds can decrease redness and even stop allergic response, leading to less red, irritated skin. When you choose macadamia nuts oil in nanocream form, particularly, it can penetrate your skin deeper to deliver these protective and anti-aging benefits.
The phytosterols in macadamia oil relieve irritation and act as a cortisone to effectively minimize redness, itchiness, and inflammation. This is one of the best macadamia nut oil benefits for skin that's prone to issues like eczema and rosacea.
Macadamia Oil is so non-provocative that even people with nut allergies can tolerate and use it. Eight Saints' Daydreamer Natural Face Moisturizer leverages the absorbing properties of macadamia nut oil to leave you with smooth, hydrated, and non-greasy skin for a full 24 hours. It's an asset when it comes to tackling dryness, wrinkles and fine lines.
Reduced Signs of Premature Aging
Another benefit of macadamia oil comes from the high concentrations of palmitoleic fatty acids -- 16%-23%, to be exact. Well, this fatty acid is essential for stopping premature aging, and it decreases in concentration significantly in aging skin. Applying products with macadamia oil can help stop this from happening, thereby preventing fine lines and wrinkles.
Benefits of macadamia nut oil for skin like this are thanks in part to Vitamin E. It stimulates blood flow to the skin and hair, increasing collagen production and boosting tissue vitality. Vitamin C also benefits human skin physiology by stimulating the biosynthesis of collagen. Further, other compounds in macadamia oil natural blends - like squalene - have been proven to support collagen.
This is particularly important for the eye area, where collagen production begins to decrease with age. Applying macadamia oil and products that contain it regularly can help keep the delicate skin around your eyes firmer and more elastic, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and puffiness. Looking for a suggestion? We highly recommend Eight Saints' All In Eye Cream.
Hydrates and Locks in Moisture
Skin relies on moisture to stay healthy. But moisture isn't always easy to create–or maintain. Enter macadamia nut oil. A rich source of palmitoleic acid, it helps the skin absorb moisture along with the many other important active ingredients found in macadamia nut oil skin products.
Hyaluronic acid is just one example of a key partner in this dynamic, used in formulas to promote skin elasticity and flexibility.
Both can be found in Daydreamer Natural Face Moisturizer, which is infused with a variety of natural compounds that you can trust to keep your skin well-hydrated, regardless of what life throws at it.
Putting It Together For the Ultimate Skincare Routine
With the above macadamia oil skin benefits fleshed out, we can now move on from theory to practice.
A consistent skincare routine is important at any age, whether you're young or old. In every case you're providing your skin with the nourishment it needs to thrive.
Here's a fun fact: macadamia nut oil isn't just good for the skin in and of itself. It's also a carrier, meaning it can help essential fatty acids and essential oils get to your skin faster. The products outlined in the sections below contain 8 ingredients you'll definitely want to be using in tandem with macadamia nut oil.
Deep Cleanse
Before getting knee-deep into secondary products, it's important that we start off with a blank slate; the skin reaps macadamia oil benefits much more effectively with prior cleansing. Containing a luxurious mix of fruit and seed oils, our Bright Side Cream Cleanser is the perfect tool for the job.
This natural cream's hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules dive deep below the skin's surface to dissolve impurities, while an infusion of vitamin E replenishes moisture, leaving skin soft and supple. Neutralize free radicals, boost radiance, and gently remove makeup with one swift step. Has getting a deep cleanse ever been easier?
Exfoliate and Renew
We've established that macadamia oil has numerous benefits. But there are plenty more ingredients out there to explore. Coconut oil, for example, is used in tons of skin care products for its naturally exfoliating texture, ideal for removing dead skin cells. Beyond scrubbing, coconut oil has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that ease inflammation, exfoliate skin cells, and seal moisture.
There's also sugarcane, which contains alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) like glycolic acid. AHAs increase cell turnover with the help of other antioxidants, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds found in this natural ingredient. If you're interested in exfoliating and renewing like this, we highly recommend Eight Saints' Coconut Body Scrub and Zen Out of Ten Face Scrub.
Tone Up to Brighten Up
Macadamia nut oil benefits skin even more when paired with hyaluronic acid, as both ingredients contain compounds that promote and lock in natural moisture. But don't use just any hyaluronic acid–use a formula designed with multi-step routines in mind.
Our Pep Rally Serum acts quickly to brighten, plump, and protect the skin against free radicals. It contains botanical based hyaluronic acid, giving you the ultimate boost in moisturizing power and reversing traces of dullness and stress.
The Eyes Say It All
Macadamia oil skincare products are most effective when combined with additional natural ingredients. Understanding essential oils in skincare, as well as how these elements work together, is essential to achieving noticeable results. We created All In Eye Cream as a smooth and weightless addition to other Eight Saints products.
Using squalene, as well as key essential oils such as primrose oil and rosehip, it is the perfect enhancement to an already-awesome macadamia oil regimen. Reap the benefits of macadamia oil in full!
Daily Cream Care for the Perfect Skin
You have a choice when it comes to your daily macadamia oil skincare routine–using a product that moisturizes well, like Daydreamer Natural Face Moisturizer, or one that delivers deep healing to the skin's tissues like Cloud Whip Face Cream. Or you can go crazy and use both! Just remember to add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mix. If you have oily skin, no need to worry as these are light and will not clog pores.
Moisturize & Protect
With all of those macadamia nut oil benefits preordained, your next step should be protecting the skin against environmental stress. This is especially important if you have sensitive skin.
Chase the Sun SPF30 is perfect for those who want to preserve the goodness macadamia oil does for their face, minus the sticky residue and white trace left behind by conventional sunscreen. Its anti-aging ingredients help nourish your skin whilst protecting it from the sun’s harmful rays.
Nightcare
You may be a macadamia oil natural now, but are you prepared to be one for life? Skin care starts in your 20s and never stops. It may be a hassle now, but you'll thank yourself in a few decades.
Fusing the powers of omega-rich marula, hydrating jojoba, lavish neroli, and countless other antioxidant-rich ingredients, Night Shift Hydration Gel is essential to preserving your earned benefits of macadamia oil long-term. It works as a great topper to our High Society Face Oil, which has just as great of a naturally-effective formula
If you're really looking to kick things up a notch, try Eight Saints' Up the Anti. This advanced cream is loaded with peptides that increase collagen production, plus hyaluronic acid which helps lock in moisture.
Should You Worry About the Side Effects of Macadamia Nut Oil?
We've been over tons of benefits, so if you're still asking yourself “Is macadamia oil good for your skin?” you might want to give the above sections another read. Because the simple answer is yes.
Macadamia oil is a great source of antioxidants, containing up to four times as much vitamin E than olive oil. It’s excellent for all skin types, even sensitive skin. In addition to delivering moisture for dry skin, it can also serve as an anti-inflammatory to calm and soothe sensitive skin. Consider it your skin care regimen's multitool.
Of course, like all products, it's always a good idea to patch test macadamia ternifolia seed oil on your arm 48 hours before going all in. But in most cases, this natural ingredient is very well-tolerated.
Does Macadamia Nut Oil Clog Pores?
Now for what everyone with acne wants: macadamia nut oil comedogenic rating numbers. Macadamia nut oil has a comedogenic rating of two to three, which is considered low on a scale that goes from zero to five.
But everyone is different; some find that macadamia oil contributes to their blackheads by blocking pores. It ultimately comes down to how you apply it and how you take care of your skin in general. Broadly speaking, macadamia oil is one of the best types of face oil for oily skin, as it is extremely lightweight. You might also consider adding a bit of linoleic acid to your routine. This compound is useful for balancing sebum production and creating a natural protective barrier against damage and environmental stress.
Final Thoughts
So, what does macadamia oil do for your face? Lots of great things, as can be seen. But macadamia oil benefits aren't given - you'll need to research products and conduct patch tests before incorporating the ingredient into your own skincare regimen. Looking for support along the way? Try Eight Saints VIP.
This exclusive club offers members access to exclusive discounts, as well as advice from experienced professionals. The team can help you understand and find the best macadamia oil skincare products for your individual needs. Get started today!